Capt John Hart, Bounty Hunter
by PygmyCritter
Summary: Capt. John is back in Cardiff, this time as a bounty hunter after none other than Faith Madden, Ianto's alien turned human roommate. Will the Torchwood gang stop John before he can deliver Faith to her would-be executioners?
1. Chapter 1

**Notes: This is my first stab at writing Cap. John, so if I don't get his character down quite right yet, just let me know. For all those who might read this and don't know who Faith is, she's an original character that first appears in Invisible Influence. Thanks for reading this much so far!!**

* * *

John watched as the alien walked out of the Sandringham Hotel. She looked human enough, but he knew better. His current employers had given him a good deal of information on the girl. She was wanted for, what he had decided to term "crimes against humanity", even if it wasn't humans she committed her crimes against.

She was pretty. He had to give her credit for choosing a pleasing form. He'd met a few aliens who'd tried to look human and failed horribly.

"So you're the one Torchwood has decided to protect?" he muttered bitterly. "You, Jack will help, but me..." he took a deep, steadying breath and walked in her direction, casually bumping into her.

"Oh, sorry." she said, smiling apologetically.

"No worries." he said, returning the smile, stooping to help her pick up the contents of the shoulder bag that had fallen. "It amazes me what women can fit into handbags." he commented.

"Me too." Faith said with a laugh as she picked up her wallet and shoved it back into the bag. "I'm sorry, but you look so familiar." she added as she stood up.

"I've got one of those faces." he replied.

"No, you don't." she shook her head. "I swear I know you from somewhere."

"Maybe we have some friends in common?" John suggested.

"Perhaps." she shrugged. "I've got to get going." she said as she adjusted the strap of the shoulderbag.

"Hot date?" he asked with a smile.

"Oh yes, very steamy." Faith laughed. "My flatmate and I are cleaning the place tonight, don't want to miss that."

"No, of course not." he said. "I didn't catch your name." he added as she turned to leave.

"I didn't tell you." Faith said, turning away again to head for the car park.

"You don't need to, Faith." John smiled as he watched her disappear around the corner. "I know you oh so very well already."

* * *

Faith was sitting in the living room going through a pile of mail she'd been letting pile up for the last week. It still amazed her at the amount of junk mail she got each day. And the kind of stuff. Lawn care guides. They should do some sort of research, she thought, living in a flat in the middle of Cardiff, she didn't have much use for that sort of thing.

She'd gotten home about an hour before, quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a faded t-shirt and had a quick bite to eat before forcing herself to get to work. Ianto, however, had yet to put in an appearance.

Growing bored with sorting the mail, she got up and decided to tackle the kitchen. At least as much of it as Ianto would let her use. A couple of small fires and he got all touchy. Taking off her jewelry, she tossed it onto the dining table and set to work. Just as she was about to clean out the fridge, the phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered as she tried to figure out what she was looking at in a container she was sure Ianto hadn't noticed she'd snuck in.

"Faith." Ianto's voice replied on the other end. "Something's come up and I'm going to be running a bit late."

"Do I even want to know?" she asked as she jerked back at the smell as she opened another container.

"Weevils everywhere." he replied. "You can get your mind out of the gutter now. It's not very becoming of a young woman."

"I'm so sorry, Mother." Faith said as she decided to toss all the containers, she would just buy him more. "Where have the weevils come from?" she asked as she tied up the garbage bag.

"Not a clue." he said as Jack yelled in the background. "Oh, keep your pants on." Ianto yelled.

"I didn't think you'd ever say those words to him." Faith teased. "Be careful." she added.

"I will." he said. "And try not to start any more fires."

"You do need to get over that." she said with a dramatic sigh. "Oh dear, the fire extinguisher is in the pantry, right?" she asked, soudning panicked. "I've got to run."

"Not funny." Ianto said, not sure if he should believe it was just her idea of a joke, before she hung up.

She put the phone down on the table next to her jewelry and went back to work. She was definitely going to have to get him new containers, she sighed.

Faith washed her hands and was slipping on a pair of shoes to take out the garbage when the shrill sound of fire alarms went off outside the door of the flat.

"What on Earth?" she muttered as she went to the door to find the sprinklers had activated.

"Run." a woman said as she ran past. A woman that Faith had come to know over the last nine months was nuttier than a fruitcake. "The fires of hell are coming to claim us!" she wailed as she ran along, stopping to grasp someone's shoulders along the way.

Faith went back into the flat to grab her phone before heading out with everyone else. She wanted to be able to get in touch with Ianto if the building was, in fact, on fire.

"Hello, Faith." a voice said from behind her.

Turning around, she found herself face to face with the man she'd run into earlier.

"What's going on?" she asked as she took a step back. "Who are you?"

"I'm Captain John Hart." he said with a smile. "And I'm going to be taking you home." he added as he grabbed her by the throat and squeezed until she passed out.

Flinging her over his shoulder, he crept out of the building by a back entrance, deftly avoiding observation by the other tenants of the building.


	2. Demands

"We traced them back to the same sewer system." Jack was saying as the group entered the hub.

"What does that tell us?" Owen asked.

"Nothing." Jack answered. "We're going to have to..." his voice trailed off as Ianto's phone rang. "Not a good time for Faith to be calling." he said.

"It's not her." Ianto said as he looked down at the display. "It's my upstairs neighbor." he explained as he answered.

"I hope she didn't start another fire." Gwen said as they waited for Ianto before going on with their planning.

"Maybe she just threatened to beat the old woman next door again." Jack offered as he impatiently waited for Ianto to come back.

"Have you ever met that woman?" Tosh asked. "I'm surprised nobody's actually done it yet."

"Tosh." Gwen said, surprised by the normally mild mannered woman's comment.

"She sticks her nose into everyone's business, she spies on her neighbors and goes around gossiping." Tosh said.

"Well, what was so important?" Jack asked as Ianto walked back into the room.

"Someone set off the fire alarm at my building." Ianto said. "Faith never came down with them though."

"Maybe she knew it was a false alarm?" Gwen suggested with a shrug.

"No, the alarms have been a bit out of whack lately, she would have gone down, just in case." Ianto answered, worry showing on his face.

"Go ahead, go check it out." Jack sighed. "Probably nothing to worry about, but you'll feel better."

"I won't be long." Ianto said as he turned to leave.

"With the weevils running about, and now the alarm going off in the building where one of us lives, do you think one of us should go with him?" Gwen asked.

"I don't see how they're related." Jack said. "Ianto said the alarms have been screwy for a while now."

"Okay." Gwen said. "If you think it's coincidental."

"Fine, go with him." Jack said after a moment. "Just hurry back. We need to sort out this weevil thing."

"We'll be as quick as possible." Gwen said as she took off to catch up with Ianto.

"Still no answer." Ianto said as he threw his phone down. "She always answers the phone."

"I'm sure it's nothing." Gwen said. "Maybe she's just really busy."

"If you thought it was nothing to worry about, Gwen." Ianto said as he glared at the red light that was holding them up. "You wouldn't be tagging along."

"True." Gwen said nervously. "Trying to think positive."

"I'm not too good at that sometimes." Ianto said as he punched the accelerator, causing Gwen to close her eyes as she gripped the dash in front of her the rest of the way.

"Mr.Jones." a rather frumpy woman in her forties called as Ianto and Gwen entered the bulidng. "I was just up at your flat, the door's wide open."

"Thank you for calling me, Mrs. Solomon." Ianto said as he headed for the elevator.

"Not a problem." she called after him. "Just hope nothings happened to the dear girl."

"Me, too." he said as he stepped in and waited to be taken up to his floor.

The doors opened after what seemed to be an hour and Gwen and Ianto ran down the hall to his flat. The hall was still damp from the sprinklers having gone off, but they saw some people making their way up to do cleaning.

"Faith?" Ianto called as he slowly walked into the flat.

Looking around, he found nothing out of place. Her purse and keys on the table next to the door, her mail on the coffee table, some stuff scattered on the dining table.

"Looks like she started the cleaning." Gwen said as she saw the garbage bag. "Her keys and everything are here, too."

"I know." Ianto said as he went into the bedroom and found the clothes she'd worn to work tossed onto the bed.

"I foudn her phone." Gwen said, walking in. "It was on the floor."

"So she didn't just go somewhere." Ianto said nervously.

"Let's look around and see if we find anything." Gwen said softly.

"Right." he nodded.

They spent the next half hour looking around the flat, in silence, finding nothing at all. When Gwen's phone rang, both of them jumped in fright.

"Good way to give us heart attacks, Jack." Gwen said with a slight laugh when she answered.

"You and Ianto need to get back here, now!" Jack said.

"What's the matt..."Gwen began.

"Now!" he said again before hanging up.

"We've got to get back." she said.

"He's keen to get on those weevils." Ianto said as he looked around the room again, hoping he'd missed something.

"Maybe there's a connection." Gwen said as they headed out of the flat, Ianto locking the door securely behind them. "Sooner we figure it out, the sooner we find Faith."

"We've gotten a message." Jack said as Ianto and Gwen came into the hub.

"From who?" Gwen asked as they followed Jack up the confrence room.

"John Hart." Jack answered, his annoyance clear.

"What does he want?" Ianto asked. "Does he have anything to do with Faith being gone?"

"I don't know what he wants." Jack answered as he stopped and turned around to face them. "I never know." he took a deep breath. "And, yes, he's behind Faith going missing."

"Oh no." Gwen said as Ianto stood silently at beside her.

"Come on." Jack said, turning back around heading into the confrence room where Tosh and Owen were waiting, Tosh pacing around.

"Go ahead and play it." Jack said as they all sat down.

The screen turned a bit snowy before a room appeared. Gray cinderblock walls with nothing on them was all they could see for a moment before John came around the front of the camera and sat down, smiling proudly.

_"Hello, Torchwood." _he said_. __"Long time, no see. So, what have you lot been up to since last we met?" _he sat back in his chair, putting his hand behind his head_. "Me? Not much, since you ask. Been here and there, made a ton of money, lost even more, had a few flings. Ended up married for a brief and scary time."_ he shuddered_. "Wouldn't recommend it to anyone. But I'm getting off topic here. As I'm sure you've noticed, a certain young woman is nowhere to be found. That's because she's with me."_ he sat up straight in his chair_. "I'm a bounty hunter now, you know? And this little lady is going to bring me a great deal of wealth. I know, I know, you're going to get all bent out of shape over this."_ he sighed._ "But really, it's all for the best. Someone who's escaped punishment for so long will finally get their's and I will ride off into the sunset with enough money I will never have to work again."_ he looked smug as he sat back once again._ "But, since Jack and I go way back, I figured I'd give you a chance to reclaim the girl. Remember those containers, Gwen? I want Jack to meet me there, you perform a few simple tasks, and get your mind out of the gutter, Jack, and you may just get her back. Tonight, eleven o'clock. Come alone, Jack. No tricks."_

With that, the screen went back to snow and the group stared at it in disbelief.

"He's taking her back to be executed?" Ianto asked.

"That's what he says." Jack said, slowly nodding.

"Are you going tonight?" Gwen asked.

"Yes." Jack said, without hesitation. "And, all of you will stay right here."

"We should come." Gwen argued. "With him, you need all the help you can get."

"Remember the last time we met him?" Owen asked. "Almost turned out really ugly."

"I go alone." Jack said firmly. "No arguing. We'll do as he says, we have a better chance of getting Faith back that way."

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Tosh said, looking rather pale.

"You all will stay here at the hub, you'll wait for word before you do anything." Jack said. "I know him best, and if he wants something from me, then I'll be able to figure out what all he wants and if I should give it to him."

"You wouldn't give into any of his demands, would you?" Gwen asked.

"If it gets Faith back here alive, then yes, he will." Ianto said. "Give him what he wants and send him back through the rift, be done with him."

"It's only eight." Jack said as he tore his gaze away from Ianto. "We should get something to eat, then we can work out a plan for later."

The group reluctantly agreed and set out to try to have dinner, although none of them seemed to have any appetite.


	3. The Meeting

Jack followed John's instructions to the letter. He arrived at the time specified, at the location specified, and he'd left the others at the hub with a promise that he'd call them when he was done.

"John!" Jack called as he looked around. He waited a few minutes before calling out again.

"Someones eager to see me." John said with a laugh as he walked out from the shadows. "Miss me?"

"Where is she?" Jack asked.

"Who?" John asked in confusion. "Oh, that damned woman." he waved his hand with a sigh. "She's a pain in the ass."

"Where is she?" he asked again, trying to get a hold on his patience.

"She's around." he shrugged. "Had to gag her. Noisy little thing."

"What do you want?" Jack asked.

"I just wanted to see you." he said as he moved forward. "I wanted to spend some time with you."

"And you thought kidnapping an innocent woman was the way to make that happen?" Jack asked with a shake of his head.

"You're here, aren't you?" John replied. "Besides, according to my new employers, she's not so innocent."

"New..." Jack's voice trailed off. "You're not seriously going to take her back."

"That's what they paid me for." John said, coming closer still . "They paid me very handsomely, too."

"So, even if she has a life here, friends, you're willing to take that away for money?" Jack asked.

"Yes." John nodded with a smile. "I don't care about any of those things."

"You said she'd be here." Jack said. "Where is she?"

"Not here at all actually, I lied." he laughed. "I wanted this to be alone time for you and I. It's been so long."

"If she's not here, I'm leaving." Jack said, his voice low in anger.

"If you leave, she won't make it back to my employers." John called after Jack in a sing-song voice. "Why are you so eager to help her out?"

"She's a friend." Jack answered, turning around. "She's helped us out, she's important to some of us."

"But me, who you have quite a history with, you were more than willing to see explode, if not for the fact that I was handcuffed to one of your precious team mates." John spat.

"You don't know that we would have let you go with that bomb." he replied, knowing full well he would have.

"Yes, I do." John said. "But this, "woman", comes here, tries to use Eye-Candy against you, trying to play with his mind to get some sort of kick," he shook his head. "Her, you're willing to help."

"She's made amends." Jack said. "I don't know why the hell I'm explaining any of this to you."

"I can make amends." John argued. "If you ask me really nice." he winked.

"I'm not going to stand here and argue whether or not Faith is worth saving or if you were." Jack said, turning around again.

"Don't leave, Jack!" John called.

Jack ignored him as he contiuned to walk out, cursing himself for having agreed to meet up with John in the first place. He reached the SUV when he heard John laugh. Turning around, his eyes grew wide as he tried to hurry to get into the SUV.

"I told you not to leave." John said as he started shooting. "You're not very good at obeying orders." he added as he walked over and turned Jack over and smiled. "Now, we'll get some time together."


	4. The Letter

Jack came to in an alley, his head throbbing. He sat up and tried to rub at a large bump on his head and found himself in handcuffs. His ankles were taped together and it took him ten minutes to peel the tape away.

"Jack?" Ianto's voice sounded over comms.

"Ianto!" he replied.

"Where are you?" Gwen's voice chimed in.

"In an alley." he answered. "Behind a dry cleaners. Allison's."

"We're on our way." Ianto said.

"What happened?" Owen asked.

"She wasn't there, it was a trap." Jack said as he propped himself against the dirty wall behind him.

"Why did he let you go?" Tosh asked.

"Part of some plan he has more than likely." Jack replied as he tried to dig around his pocket, hoping to find the keys to the cuffs, instead he found a note. "Some light reading." he muttered as he stared at John's hand writing.

"What is it?" Ianto asked.

"I don't know." Jack said. "I'll wait til you're all here, then I'll open it."

"You're sure she wasn't there, Jack?" Ianto asked.

"Positive." he said with a sigh. "If she had been, he would have brought here out, to taunt."

"Damn it!" Ianto said, Jack could hear him punching the steering wheel.

"We'll find her." Jack reassured him, though he didn't feel too confident in his own statement.

* * *

"Open it already!" Owen said as the group walked into the hub.

Jack bent his head and opened the envelope, Gwen staring at the back of his head.

"What happened to your hair?" she asked.

"Now isn't really the time to comment on how good everyone looks with their haircuts." Jack said as he pulled a piece of paper from the torn envelope.

"Looks like Captain John took a memento." Tosh said seeing what Gwen had. "The hair from right behind your ear is gone."

"That's creepy, even for John." Jack said as he ran his hand over the spot.

"What's the letter say?" Ianto asked, not caring if John had taken a bit of Jack's hair.

"It's from Faith." Jack answered as he stared at the piece of paper.

"What does it say?" Ianto asked again.

_"Ianto, Tosh, Owen, Jack and Gwen,_

_I want to thank you all for everything you've done for me. You didn't have to help me, but you did, and you have no idea what that's meant to me._

_I was hoping my time here on Earth would be longer, but, obviously that is not going to happen. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but, it does. _

_I'll miss you all, yes, even Gwen and Owen. _

_Tosh, good luck with Alun, or Owen, or who ever else catches your fancy, I love you._

_Gwen, good luck with Rhys, he's a great guy, you have proven you deserve him, I'm happy for you._

_Owen, I have no idea what to say to you, other than, thank you, and you can be fun when you're not driving me up the bloody wall._

_Jack, thank you so much. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but you really came through for me, and I never was able to find a way to say thank you. Take care of Ianto for me, please._

_Ianto, I don't want to say goodbye. I hate this, I feel it's so unfair. Obviously, you are the one I will miss the most, and I will never forget you until my dying day, unfortunately, that's not too far off. Thank you for all your help, and your trust and friendship. I love you. I love you so much. _

_Thank you all again. I can't say it enough. I do care for you all, and I'll miss you...Goodbye._

_Love, and deepest thanks,_

_Faith"_

The group stared at one another in silence as Jack handed the letter over to Ianto who sat in the nearest chair and re-read the words.

"Why didn't she give us some clues as to where she is?" Tosh asked as she wiped some tears from her eyes.

"It sounds like she's not going to fight him." Gwen said.

"That's not like her." Ianto said, his voice hoarse with emotion. "She should be fighting."

"What if he's threatening her?" Owen asked as he stared at the letter over Ianto's shoulder.

"Threatening to come after us?" Tosh asked.

"It would make sense." Jack agreed as he stood next to Ianto, putting his arm around him. "It would explain the farewell letter."

"We have to find her." Ianto said as he stared up at Jack.

"We'll try." Jack nodded as a loud beeping noise started coming from somewhere.

"Rift activity." Tosh said, running to her computer.

"Get the cooridinates." Jack said as he ran for the door, Gwen, Owen and Ianto on his heels.

"Wait for me." Tosh said as she opened her laptop and brought up the same screen showing the activity.

"He's taking her back, and she'll be executed." Ianto said as he climbed into the passenger seat, allowing Owen to drive.

"Not if we get there before it's too late." Jack said as he told Owen where to go.

"Hold on." Owen said as he threw the SUV in gear and took off, smoke rising from the tires as they squealed out of the parking garage, hoping they weren't too late.


End file.
